It did not take long for Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic running back Elijah Hood to move on to a new future college program.

Hood, No. 47 in the ESPN 300, committed to North Carolina on Tuesday, he told ESPN.com in a text message. His commitment comes a week after he backed off his pledge to Notre Dame and hardly comes as a surprise.

Carolinablue.com earlier reported Hood's new choice.

The No. 7 running back in the country, Hood decommitted from Notre Dame in large part to find a school closer to home. His commitment to the Fighting Irish this spring was a bit of a surprise, as he said not long before his pledge that Notre Dame and several other schools would drop down his list because of distance. UNC is a little more than two hours from Charlotte.

Committed to Notre Dame for four months, Hood's desire to remain closer to home resurfaced during the summer. When he decommitted, Hood did so with the intention of pledging to the Tar Heels. Clemson and Georgia were two teams close to home that Hood also considered before originally choosing Notre Dame.

The four-star running back is the fifth-ranked player in North Carolina and No. 7 among running backs nationally. Hood, a 6-foot, 221-pound athlete with 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash, is the highest-rated commitment in UNC's 2014 class.

In Larry Fedora's spread-friendly offense, Hood will give some more strength and durability to the Heels' running game.

The Tar Heels have 21 commitments and a class that ranks No. 23, although that ranking does not take Hood's commitment into account.

Information from RecruitingNation's Corey Dowlar was used in this report.